Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Returned to Auckland last week having survived the advance of Northern Winter and Paris Photo with its abundance of ill conceived "decorative" photographs. Much to see however in the area of new books. Good to see at most times a 5 deep crush around the Schaden books stand. Launched A Short History of Photography with signings at Colette and Paris Photo. Several of the photographers included in my Short History were at Paris Photo so I took the opportunity to have them sign their page.Rene Burri writes "some of us are luckier than others, you got a woman between 2 men - I had to "deal" with 4 men on a roof!!!". Martin Parr said, "In the hands of my lawyers" and Alec Soth, "If you really want to make an Alec Soth, sharpen up a bit and get those buildings straight, (now if only I could get the spontaneity of the couple in the background - hard to do with a one second exposure)". All nice.....here are the pages.....

About Me

My pictures explore the strange anthropology of cities. The unusual and overlooked in the human landscape.
I am asking the viewer to question the idea that photographs as documents are complete representations of subject.
I'm interested in the universality of life and the idea of parallel lives - when one thing is happening here, something else is happening over there. The democracy of non-places fascinates me, in the knowledge that inevitably nothing is as it seems.
I work and live between Auckland and Paris.
http://harveybenge.com/
email:harvey.benge@xtra.co.nz